Chest
Selected ReportsManagement of a Giant Fluid-filled Bulla by Closed-Chest Thoracostomy Tube Drainage
Section snippets
Case Report
A 53-year-old man with a 60 pack-year history of smoking initially presented to his clinic physician complaining of 4 days of dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. A chest radiograph demonstrated bullous disease bilaterally but otherwise showed no abnormalities. He was treated with oral amoxicillin, prednisone, and bronchodilators, all with minimal effect on symptoms. On return to the clinic, the patient reported night sweats, fatigue, dyspnea, and fevers, and a chest radiograph demonstrated fluid
Discussion
The management of symptomatic fluid-filled bullae secondary to pneumonia is poorly defined in the medical literature. Early reports suggested that surgical intervention may be necessary for patients having fluid-containing bullae and persistent symptoms.4, 6 More recently, Mahler and D’Esopo7 studied a series of patients with fluid-containing bullae and concluded that this condition is usually benign and that surgical resection is contraindicated. The largest and most recent case series by
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